“He can throw two different break-ing balls, which has been a huge break-through for him,” Honeycutt shares. “Hit-ters work the count to a fastball count, but when they’re not sure what’s coming, that’s tough. There are very few lefties that have his type of stuff.”

Catcher A.J. Ellis was witness to the

day Kershaw discovered one of his best pitches.

“He found his slider one day at Wrigley Field in Chicago in the bullpen,” he ex-plains. “The coaches were talking about it, and I was the catcher that next game when we tried it. A game later he was al-ready throwing it. It’s his out pitch. He has

a great fastball, which is his best pitch, but his slider is strong too.”

Unmistakable FaithEllis isn’t just Kershaw’s catcher – he’s

also his accountability partner on the team, helping each other stay grounded in their faith during a long, grueling sea-son.

“Last year we started doing our con-ditioning together – we’d run every day,” Ellis says. “That was our main account-ability time. This morning we had a great talk sitting in the food room talking about this season, how we’ve grown, and what we’re trying to accomplish professionally and spiritually this season. He’s a great friend and someone you can always count on no matter what.”

Kershaw grew up in a Methodist fam-ily in the Dallas area and attended church every Sunday, but made the personal decision to actively follow Christ when he was in high school. He also became heavily involved in his school’s FCA hud-dle (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) and takes the time to come back every offsea-son to speak to the students.

“A lot of people get an outside glance of your life, especially when they’re a fan watching you on TV,” he says. “You can’t straight up talk to them about your faith, so I try to show people how a Christian should live their life. I’m not perfect, it’s not easy, and I make mistakes, but that’s what I try to do.”

According to Ellis, the way Kershaw lives his life makes people take notice.

“I think the thing about Clayton is that people gravitate toward him because there’s something different about his life,” Ellis says. “He’s open and willing to share his faith, and is an awesome example of what a Christian athlete should be like.”

Part of being an athlete is being a true competitor, and when it comes to repre-senting Christ, Kershaw is the ultimate warrior.

³+H¶V� D� ¿�HUFH� FRPSHWLWRU�� DQG� ZH¶OO�have some heated conversations in the dugout about what I thought should hap-pen and what he thought should happen,” admits Ellis. “But at the end of the day we’re both trying to win and get the best thing going.”

“He has a competitive nature. He nev-er gives in,” Ellis continues. “He’ll go after you…no matter who you are. He desires

43

to be one of the best in the game. There’s nobody he’s afraid of. He has a humble swagger about him.”

Kershaw is also known for being a great teammate.

“Sometimes the pitchers stick with pitchers, and the hitters stick with the hitters in the dugout, but with Clayton, he’s always at the top step of the dugout cheering us on,” says Ellis. “That’s one of his great gifts: encouragement. My career has been a little rockier than his, so he’s always encouraging me and pushing me and reminding me that there are things more important out there than baseball.”

Kershaw and Ellis are also involved in the team’s Sunday chapel before every home game, which is open to the visiting

team and umpires. Mark Rodriguez, the Dodgers chaplain for the last eight years, has taken a solid approach to helping players study God’s Word.

“We’ll take a whole season to study one book of the Bible so they can better grasp the Word and be grounded in their faith,” Rodriguez explains, instead of do-ing a topical study where a random verse is thrown at them. On average, up to 18 players attend each service.

Rodriguez will be passing the chap-laincy reigns to Brandon Cash this com-ing season, but had some added insight to share about Kershaw.

“He’s a sharp guy – very mature for his age,” Rodriguez says. “He has a good work ethic and solid disposition. Even

when times are tough he doesn’t get up-set. I’ve watched him and seen him get pulled (from a game) early, and he’ll be frustrated, but he has control. You won’t see him throwing stuff around.”

With all of the money and contracts and baseball analytics aside, what it comes down to for Kershaw, who grew up admiring hurlers Roger Clemens and Andy Pettite, is one thing: “I love baseball. It takes a lot of preparation and work, but it’s pretty fun getting to do what you love.”

$QG�ZKHQ�KH�WDNHV�WKH�¿�HOG�WKLV�VSULQJ��in one of the most historic stadiums in the country, there will be a swagger of con-¿�GHQFH�DQG�D�¿�UH�WR�ZLQ��%XW�WUXH�WR�WKH�nature of Clayton Kershaw, it will always be a “humble swagger.”

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FROM L.A. TO AFRICA

Clayton Kershaw enters the 2011 Major League Baseball season fresh off a busy offseason, which included his marriage to wife Ellen in early December, and a mission trip to Zambia with Arise Africa in Janu-ary.

�³,W�ZDV�P\�¿�UVW�WLPH�JRLQJ�RYHU�WKHUH�´�KH�H[SODLQV��“Ellen always goes over in the summer, but I can’t go then, so the opportunity came up and we decided to give it a shot. We had some connections with Arise Africa, and it was perfect timing during the winter.”

Ellen, who has a passion for missions, has trav-HOHG�WR�$IULFD�IRU�WKH�SDVW�¿�YH�\HDUV�RQ�WULSV�ZLWK�WKH�purpose to build schoolhouses, provide education and share Christ with the people there.

“Going to Zambia with Clayton this past winter was absolutely a dream come true, and incredibly impact-

ful for the both of us,” she shares. “It was so impor-tant to me that Clayton experienced Africa with me so early on in our marriage, and I think it rocked his world seeing those pre-cious kids in their poverty-stricken environment.”

The missions team VSHQW�WKH�¿�UVW�WZR�GD\V�working on a boarding school for orphans, paint-ing it, and placing borders around the cinder blocks.

“The next few days we did programs for the kids to take a break from their normal life, get some good food and have fun,” says Clayton.

The kids had never seen a baseball before, so they all enjoyed watching him play catch with a friend to keep his arm loose.

During spring training, Clayton spoke about how surreal the experience was.

“I can’t believe a month ago I was in Africa,” he VD\V��³,W�GH¿�QLWHO\�NHHSV�HYHU\WKLQJ�LQ�SHUVSHFWLYH��and reminds you of how blessed and fortunate you are. These people – as long as their basic needs are met – they’re joyful people and love the Lord. So that’s something we can all learn from them.”

Jenna Sampson

Jeff Gross / Getty Images

Photo courtesy of Clayton and Ellen Kershaw

Photo courtesy of Clayton and Ellen Kershaw

W E B S I T E : w w w. S p o r t s S p e c t r u m . c o m